Saturday, April 21, 2007

Just a random update...

So, a couple of life updates, and a couple observations from the first few weeks of the MLB season…

First, moving is tough.I have to be in Pittsburgh by May 10th, yet I still have nowhere guaranteed to live.I might be sleeping in the parking garage of my new office for the first few days.Pittsburgh isn’t too cold at night in May, is it?

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There are some things in life that you just can’t un-see.Driving through Brighton on my way to Anna’s Taqueria on Harvard Ave in Brookline this afternoon (probably the food I am going to miss the most when I move, by the way…Although the fact that there is no Dunkin’ Donuts for my morning coffee within 40 miles is wholly unacceptable), I drove past an overweight, out of shape, excessively hairy, 70-something-year-old man, driving a Vespa… wearing nothing but a loincloth, a shoulder-strap messenger’s bag, and a bike helmet.I shit you not.I nearly caused a four-car pileup trying to avert my eyes – I made the mistake of shutting them while still driving forward.

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Next, from among the ranks of the Blogdome... Dan Mega (is that really your last name bro?Just asking…) made one hell of a good argument in this post about revenue vs. payroll spending in the Major Leagues.Now obviously, there are adjustments to be made to the numbers.But when a team spends 30% of their revenue on team payroll alone… not counting Stadium costs, advertising, concessions, etc… there’s no way you can legitimately call them cheap.Nice investigative work there…

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I broke my toothbrush the other night in the middle of brushing my teeth.This is of no significance to anyone else on this planet other than me; I just thought it was odd.Seriously – how messed up is it that a toothbrush can just snap in half while in use?I suppose I should expect that from personal care items that I buy at the dollar store (two for a dollar, no less!Such a deal!). If this had happened ten years ago, Seinfeld could have easily dedicated two and a half episodes to it.I’m convinced of this.

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OK, onto sports related stuff (which is why I’m sure all four of you reading this page have come here in the first place).

The Red Sox are 11-5 after taking the first two of three from the Yankees (Bobby Abreu just flew out to end Game 2 about 90 seconds before I wrote this).The Dodgers are 12-5 to lead the National League, ½ game ahead of the Mets at 11-5.So I have to ask – which World Series would be more fun to watch?The 1986 rematch of Mets/Sox, or bringing the Dodgers into Fenway, meaning Derek Lowe, Nomar, and of course Grady Little would be back in Boston… for the opposing team?I fully understand that I’m assuming the Red Sox will advance through the American League and the rest of the playoffs… very big assumption, though they look pretty good now.Talk to me after the inevitable Manny/Drew/Schilling/Wakefield DL stints, and after the Yankees get Wang, Moose and probably Clemens back into their rotation… OK, I’m officially off the topic.Sorry ‘bout that.

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I’m dying with anticipation to see how a bunch of ping pong balls fall in the next few weeks.Seriously – how bad is the quality of the NBA when the biggest story in the league, during the postseason, is who is going to get the #1 overall pick in the draft?I honestly had to look up the 16 teams in the playoffs just to be able to talk coherently about the playoffs with some buddies the other night.Sick.I used to love basketball.Now, I’ll watch it if there’s no baseball, football, golf, poker, hockey, UFC, and even WWE on ahead of it.It’s sad.Though I absolutely love ABC’s HD coverage with the camera that hovers about 10 feet over the floor.That thing is outstanding.

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Now, the NFL Draft… I will probably sit in my room (wherever that happens to be…) and watch every pick, start to finish.I don’t know why, but I am fascinated by Mel Kiper’s ability to speak clearly and coherently about every pick.That, plus his hair has its own planetary system.Maybe that’s what keeps me mesmerized.

OK, I gotta go back to packing.Time to purge all my crap, cuz I don’t think everything’s fitting into my little semi-compact for the 8 hour drive…

2 Comments:

Pittsburgh's a haul....nothing creepier than leaving Philly headed west and seeing Pittsburgh 300 miles to go....when you're still in the same state! The tunnels through the mountains are nice, though. The closest we have in New England is the West Rock tunnel on 15 in New Haven. Take that and multiply it by about 4.

Gotta have Nomar and Grady back in town. (We'll see....Wakefield isn't a lock for the DL.)